San Jose Mayor Reed Endorses in Council D1 Race

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has proven popular with voters in his own campaigns and efforts to pass ballot measures. But he’s been cautious with his endorsement for candidates in this primary election season. As he enters his final year in office with most of his City Council allies seeking to succeed him in the June primary, he has declined to name a favorite.

So it did catch our eye this week when Charles “Chappie” Jones proudly announced he’s got Reed’s endorsement as he seeks the council seat of termed-out Reed ally and mayoral contender Pete Constant in western San Jose’s District 1.

Who, you ask? His campaign website describes Jones as a 52-year-old business manager at Apple who grew up in Sacramento and moved to San Jose years 20 ago, where he and his wife have raised two children now in their late teens. It points to a June 2012 Wall Street Journal article before the 2012 vote on Reed’s pension reform Measure B that quoted his supportive remarks questioning the cost of public safety pensions “at the expense of community centers, parks and potholes.”

It quotes Reed saying Jones’ “leadership in taking difficult positions because he believed they were right convinces me he would serve District 1 and the city as a whole with integrity.”

Jones faces plenty of competition in a race that may well go to a November runoff. Democratic state Assemblyman Paul Fong has set up shop in the district to make a run for Constant’s seat, where he is expected to enjoy generous support from unions that see Reed’s agenda as unfair to government workers. Other hopefuls we’ve also told you about include Tim Gildersleeve, Robert Levy, Susan Marsland, Richard McCoy and Art Zimmerman.

The snickering over Reed’s short coattails after the defeat of his endorsed council hopefuls like Hon Lien and Larry Pegram seems to have subsided some since Councilman Johnny Khamis’ 2012 election.